The Design Block

If you're looking for the latest in advertising and marketing, design related technology and lifestyle tips, and art or design highlights then you're in the right place. Find all this and more with the Design Block blog.

Icons and symbols are powerful tools that have been used by humans to communicate ideas for over 100,000 years. Computer-based illustration tools like Adobe Illustrator have made creating icons easier than ever.

The one question that most freelance designers have trouble answering is, “what is your time really worth?” If you’re a full-time employee at an agency, your salary takes into consideration business costs like healthcare, licensing, taxes, and other business essentials. But when you work for yourself, you’ve…

As designers, we know that we need to motivate people through communication. However, sometimes we forget that when it comes to our own work. Great design poorly presented can kill an idea. So how best to present logos and branding to the client to win them…

When designers design, they sometimes become so immersed in their work that they forget to step back and make sure they’re on the right path. Often, a second pair of eyes are what’s needed to help designers stay on brief and create amazing designs; that…

When a company is looking to hire you to their team, they often vet you online first. During this cyber investigation, your LinkedIn profile will typically show up in the first three to five results. You now have the opportunity to control what they find about…

Sometimes it seems as if there aren’t enough hours in the day to get all your work done—especially if you’re a writer. Some people are writing machines; they get an idea, pound it out in minutes, and move on to something else. For most of us,…

Unfortunately, starting out really isn’t as easy as becoming an overnight sensation. As much as we think and hope that our product or service will be an instant hit, that doesn’t happen. When it comes to getting your name out there, startup marketing is a…

To have success in business, you need to have exceptional employees. However, hiring them is only half the battle. Have you ever had a great employee, and thought, “This is the one!” They’re smart, engaged, driven, and seemed to really love the job. You can…

The easy answer is that the best times to post on social media are when the people you want to see the content are on the network. However, each social network has its own best practice. Data from 16 studies proves that posting at the best times will help…

No matter how positive of a person you are, or how much you love your job, bad days happen to the best of us. You spilled your coffee, got stuck in traffic, or tear your pants. By the time you sit down to start work, you’re…

Whether you know it or not, consumers are able to tell the difference between a good and bad logo. And having a cheap logo design not only reflects badly on your skills as a designer, but on the brand it was created for. Your logo…

While there are plenty of online tutorials available, it’s often difficult for novice graphic designers to know where to start. When opening Photoshop for the first time, it’s easy to look at all the confusing features and buttons. If only there was a Photoshop cheatsheet that could help…

Day in, day out, recruiters sift through piles of résumés for available job openings. They’re usually searching for a specific skill sets or experience that matches their clients’ requirements. And if nothing of interest stands out, they move on to the next one.

A few weeks ago, PANTONE revealed its bright and zesty Colour of the Year 2017, called Greenery. Because it evokes nature, Greenery signals consumers to take a deep breath, oxygenate and reinvigorate. Thus, people respond on a deeper level to this hue, making the eye catching Greenery an ideal shade for design. This is especially…

Gaining a post-secondary education can be an incredibly valuable experience for your design skills. The popular perception of needing education to be successful is getting a college or university degree and working for a company which pays you per your education level. However, it doesn’t…

As someone who has had facial hair for nearly twenty years, I can tell you it takes a lot of work to grow out a great beard. Good grooming habits are essential, no matter if it’s for a cause like Movember or just because you want…

Ask any expert, and they’ll tell you that the best way to avoid a hangover is to lay off the booze. Or just stay drunk, your call. To fend off the nausea, headache, dizziness, and general misery that often follows an intense night of drinking, check out this infographic…

There’s no argument anymore. Neuroscience confirms that highly creative people think and act differently than the average person. Their brains are literally hardwired in a unique way. So what is it like to lead a creative life?

Whether we’re just starting out or seasoned professionals, we’re all striving to find that dream design job. These days, not every job is advertised in a newspaper or on a website. That’s why it’s important to make as many connections as possible. Online communities such as Twitter,…

Being restrained in home invasions and kidnapping scenarios, innocent people are increasingly being zip tied. With a quick Google search, you’ll see a number of situations where suspects used a zip tie. Because handcuffs are expensive and hard to come by, but zip ties are cheaply available at every…

As creatives who have to deal with clients, we all face one difficult and uncomfortable situation in our careers. You already have the project, so this isn’t about convincing them to pick you for the job. This is about guiding the client to accept that…

As the industry standard, Photoshop is a powerful image editing tool for designers. There are lots of Photoshop resources around to help us keep on top of thing, including handy tutorials. But in the wrong hands it can affect quality and make things less productive.

In nearly 10 years in advertising I’ve found pricing jobs for clients can be challenging and sometimes complex. If you’ve finally come to a point in your career where you have more than enough work and a steady stream of clients, you’re probably doing something…

If you’re like me, trying to write about yourself is hard, and knowing that it’s for potential employers is even worse. You don’t want to sound cocky or like a snob. This one page on your website will summarize who you are, what you do,…

You’ve managed to finally get an interview with what you think is your dream employer. You heard they have a fantastic culture and that it’s the hippest new place to work. You’re ecstatic. It turns out, however, you never really know what it’s like on the inside until you get…

We’ve entered the peak of the holiday party season and most companies are gathering to celebrate the end of a hardworking year. This is the time of year when your colleagues get hammered and make complete fools of themselves.

Besides a warm winter coat — and polar bear repellent — a scarf is a gentleman’s best defence against the Canadian elements. But a scarf is much more than just frostbite protection. Tying it the right way can add boatloads of charm and personality to…

You and your team have invested hours into research, insight and come up with a presentation that will blow the client away. When it comes to present the designs, you’re excited to share what you’ve all been working to show. When you’re through, you gauge…

Verbal cues aren’t the only way that humans express what they’re thinking or feeling. In fact, we express a lot through visual cues given off by our body language. It also plays a large factor in the type of impression we make on others.

So you’ve searched for potential employers, sent out dozens of queries and you finally landed an interview. Good job. Now you have to navigate dozens of questions about yourself and successfully explained why you’d make a great addition to the team.

Ad agencies and companies are constantly looking to sign designers up for an internship—both to help those starting their career and as a way to find potential hires (on a trial basis). Win win, right?

Workplaces are full of different personalities that can make them buzz with conversation and productivity. However, when working in close quarters, it’s inevitable that they will eventually end in conflict. If these workplace conflicts aren’t dealt with immediately and effectively, the constant battle of wills…

If you’re a freelancer or have been working for a while, then you understand the importance of a personal brand. If you’re still in university and haven’t started just yet, don’t worry because it’s best to take your time and do it right so you’ll…

We’re a visual society. And with our fast-paced lives and the amount of information we’re constantly barraged with, it takes a striking visual to get our attention. But you also need smart copy presented with good typography to back it up.

Humans rely on visual cues for nearly everything. In fact, 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, and our brains can process images 60,000 times faster than text. That means for a bloggers and content marketers, blog graphics are an important part of…

If you want to be discovered for your creative abilities, the quickest and easiest way is online. A portfolio website—with assistance from social media—is the best way to show the world what you can do. In fact, it can even help attract the attention of…

If you haven’t heard of Medium, it’s a site where you can read, write, and interact with millions of ideas and stories from around the world. 10 Steps To Becoming The Perfect Graphic Designer is a humorous tongue-in-cheek post by Philadelphia-based designer Patrick Macomber that should give…

Daniel Swanick has been working as both a freelance and in-house Art Director / Senior Graphic Designer in the Greater Toronto Area for over ten years. He looks at every project from both a creative and strategic point-of-view to deliver engaging, conceptually driven ideas.